About Bandung

Bandung is a city in West Java, Indonesia. Bandung is a highland city (altitude 768m) knowns for its many universities, textile industry and many roadside cafes. Called Parijs van Java (Paris of Java) by the Dutch, its high altitude location makes the weather pleasantly cool. Bandung has been nicknamed kota kembang, literally meaning the flower city, since the colonial era. However this nickname is a misinterpreted by many, as the flower actually refers to females, because of the city's reputation for having beautiful girls. The food in Bandung is also well known for its wide varieties and taste. Many tourists from Jakarta visit Bandung during weekends and national holidays, when it can get quite crowded.

The head of government in the city of Bandung is a mayor ("walikota"). The city has 26 districts.

'Bandung Regency"/"Kabupaten Bandung" is the suburbs of Bandung. The head of government in Bandung Regency is a regent ("Bupati"). There are 45 districts in Bandung Regency.

Bandung's population in 2005 is 2,771,138 people. The area is 168 square kilometres and the population density is 16,494 people/sq. km.

Tourist promotion office:

• Dinas Pariwisata Kota Bandung: JL. Ahmad Yani No. 227 Bandung, Telp. (62)(22) 7210768.
• Jl. Stasiun Timur No. 1, Tel.: (62)(22) 421 6648.

visa policy to indonesia

Tourist visas are only intended for tourists who are visiting Indonesia, not for expatriates intending to work and live for an extended period of time. Tourist visas will be needed by friends or family coming to visit you during your stay in Indonesia. There are 3 categories of tourist visa system.

Pay-for-visa-on-arrival (VOA) system for citizens of 52 nations

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, iceland, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, People's Republic of China, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Suriname, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States.

The cost of the 30-day (only) tourist visa is US$25/person for a 30-day visa and US$10/person for a 3-day visa.

Visitors from countries with visa-on-arrival facility will have to go to a special counter to have their passports stamped with the on-arrival visa before going to the immigration clearance desk. The VOA visa is NOT EXTENDABLE OR RENEWABLE. A visa issued on arrival can be extended only in extraordinary circumstances such as natural disasters, accident, or illness. If you want to stay in Indonesia longer than the 30 days you must exit and re-enter the country on a new tourist visa.

Visa purchasing takes 15-30 minutes per applicant, depending on the number of persons applying. Payment counters, a bank counter, and a money changer have been set up to process payments. Passport must be valid for at least six months from the date of arrival. Payment must be made on arrival. An onward or return trip ticket must be shown on arrival.

The visa on arrival facility is only available at the following international gateways:

Airports:
Medan, Pekanbaru, Padang, Jakarta, Surabaya, Bali, Manado, Halim Perdana Kusuma in Jakarta, Adisucipto in Yogyakarta, Adisumarmo in Solo, Selaparang in Mataram, Lombok, Sepinggan in Balikpapan, Kalimantan, Hasanudddin in Makasar, Sulawesi, and Eltari in Kupang, Timor.

Seaports:
Batam, Tanjung Uban (Bintan), Belawan (Medan), Sibolga (Sumatra), Dumai, Teluk Bayar (Padang, Sumatra), Padang Bai (Bali), and Jayapura (Papua), Teluk Bayar in (Padang, Sumatra), Bitung, Tanjung Balaikarimun, Tanjung Mas (Semarang),Tenau (Kupang), Pare Pare (Sulawesi), Bintang Pura (Tanjung Pinang), and Soekarno-Hatta (Makassar, Sualwesi)

Visa-free facility is granted to the citizens of 11 countries whose governments extend visa free facility to Indonesian nationals would continue to enjoy short visa-free stays.

Included in the 11 countries and administrative districts that are granted the 30-day visa-free facility are:

Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Hongkong Special Administrative Region, Macau Special Administrative Region, Malaysia, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Visitors with the visa-free facility will be able to proceed directly to the immigration clearance counter after deplaning. Passport must be valid for a minimum of six months from the date of arrival. Onward or return tickets must be shown on arrival.

Citizens of other countries not on the visa on arrival or visa free lists will be required to apply for a visa overseas (in their home country) before entering Indonesia.

Citizens of any country wishing to stay more than 30 days must also apply for an appropriate visa (cultural visit or business) at their nearest Indonesian Embassy or Consulate before traveling to Indonesia.

Tour Agents are able to arrange express handling for groups at no additional charge by presenting the completed immigration cards, passports and applicable visa fee. Passengers who overstay their visa period for a short period of time can be processed immediately at the airport by paying US$ 20 for every day they overstayed their 30-day visa. Airlines that experience technical difficulties or delayed flights can apply for their passengers to be exempted from paying any overstay penalties.

The current tourist visa policy cuts the length of stay for tourist visas from the previous 60 days to 30 days. It is NO LONGER possible to stay in Indonesia more than 30 days on a tourist visa.

Caution (30-day counting)
The way they immigration officials count the 30-day period is: you arrive on the 1st day with, for instance, a 30-day visa, and you must leave on the 30th day (not the 31st or the first of the next month, as you might think). This is actually their policy for how to count the days. and, after getting burned once and learning my lesson, I see their point and follow their definition of 30 days.

If you want to stay in Indonesia LONGER than 30 days, you must leave the country and re-enter on a new tourist visa. People commonly fly to Singapore or Timor for this. There is no stipulation on the time you must stay outside Indonesia, in fact, you can return the same day if you want and be issued a new visa upon your arrival in Indonesia.

Overstaying your Visa

Overstaying a tourist visa (or any visa) is a serious offense in Indonesia. You will be blacklisted (can not enter Indonesia again for a year or more) and fined $20-30/day for every day you overstayed your visa and then deported once you have paid the fine. The maximum fine for overstaying a visa (more than 60 days) is Rp 25 million and 5 years in jail. You will be kept at the immigration quarantine until you have paid the fee and/or the decision has been made to deport you. Please take this seriously as this is not one of those problems that you can easily bribe your way out of.